People do not typically include “lawyer” in the list of military spouse friendly professions. With licensure headaches and the variety of law specialties, finding positions that look cohesive on a resume can feel impossible. Instead of dwelling on the challenges, Air Force spouse Nadia Anac kept an open mind, explored new pathways and reminded herself […]

Take a moment and visualize a career path. What do you see? A ladder? Building blocks? A line clearly connecting one stepping stone to another? Getting a job out of college and staying with that company for an entire career is no longer the norm, but the residuals of viewing a career as completely linear […]

Visionary and Co-founder, Lynn Waidelich shares her story. I am a reader. It is one of my things. I usually have two books going: one non-fiction, something to make me smarter and one fiction, something to help relax me before bed. As a kid, I spent my summers in Whittier, CA with my grandparents. While […]

Today’s world of military spouse employment often focuses on careers that are totally transportable. We try to be a jack of all trades and aspire to find a job that is telecommute or in demand no matter where we go. But the right job is not always flexible. Together with her family, Navy spouse Daphne […]

An educator, researcher, and Navy wife, Michelle Van Lare began her professional journey as a high school English teacher and basketball coach. Her love of community and passion for teaching took her across the country and eventually landed her in Singapore, where she met her now-husband. Initially, she thought the life of a Navy spouse […]

This month, OSS hosted an event on NAS Atsugi focused on how we as military spouses can craft our stories during interviews. So much of our life can feel out of our control, but our professional story is something we can craft and tailor throughout the job application process. We can rework a gap in […]

This month, we are excited to bring you something a little bit different. Michelle Wells, a military spouse of more than 20 years, has shared her journey as a military spouse in an original poem titled ‘I Take a Step’. From teary goodbyes, difficult moves, and challenging job searches, it was Michelle’s hope that while […]

The professional life of a twentysomething today is often expected to follow a series of steps: Get a degree or two, find a job in your field, work in that job and expand upon the skills developed in college. But for military spouses, that professional life is thrown into a tailspin with each set of […]

Navy spouse Elizabeth Shaw dedicates both her professional life and volunteer hours to help others find their voice. During the day, she works as a grassroots organizer, connecting constituents with their members of congress. In her spare time, she runs a wildly popular Facebook group focused on careers for military spouses. Diving into philanthropy and […]

Educator. Doctoral Student. Preschool Director. Founder of a non-profit. Marine Corps Spouse. When Kate McKenney began her career teaching in Los Angeles, she expected her job titles would evolve over time with new challenges and exciting opportunities. However, she did not anticipate the Marine Corps to play such a critical role in those changes. With […]

Our Story

As military spouses, we’ve seen first hand the joys and challenges of our lifestyle. We have spent countless hours discussing our dual roles as career professionals and military spouses. Out of these conversations, we’ve formed The Other Side of Service (OSS), a community for military spouse professionals.